WASHINGTON_House Majority Whip Steve Scalise criticized a Republican candidate in Pennsylvania who threatened to "stomp all over" his opponent's face while wearing golf spikes.
Scott Wagner, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, made the threats in a Facebook Live video Friday.
"Gov. Wolf, let me tell you, between now and Nov. 6, you better put a catcher's mask on your face, because I'm going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes. I'm going to win this for the state of Pennsylvania, and we're throwing you out of office," he said.
"The people of Pennsylvania are tired of your lies," Wagner said.
Scalise was quick to denounce the threat. What Wagner said was "totally unacceptable," and there is "no place in our politics for this kind of rhetoric," the Louisiana Republican tweeted.
He also added, "I thought you were a lot smarter. You're really not very smart."
Scalise has seen violence in politics first-hand. When a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice for congressional Republicans in June 2017, he sustained a severe hip injury.
On Scalise's first day back in the House, he spoke about the importance of cooling down heated-up language. "It's so important that as we're having those political battles, we don't make them personal," he said.
